


Reside

by jeejaschocolate



Series: It Takes Five [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic, Dorks in Love, Epilogue, Established OT5, Fluff, Headcanon, Humor, Kissing, Multi, Polyamory Negotiations, Prompt Fill, Time Skips, good guy!Ardyn, prejudice against MTs, tying up loose ends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 07:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11099379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeejaschocolate/pseuds/jeejaschocolate
Summary: (Sequel to “Maintain,” takes place five years later)They all live in the nearby vicinity of the Citadel. This way, whenever one of them calls, it doesn’t take long to finalize plans and decide on a meeting place.Today, it’s a haven right outside the city. Near the hill overlooking Insomnia.





	Reside

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the (way longer than I expected) epilogue. Like the summary says, I fast forwarded five years. Wanted it to be ten like in the game, but no matter how I looked at it, ten years feels like a damn long time. Wasn't ready for that T_T so it's five years here. But you know, the future. 
> 
> Basically this my head canon for how I see these guys ending up! Life isn't easy, but it's good. Best we can hope for, right? 
> 
> Also, I think I covered all of the G-rated prompts I got in "Maintain." Hoping to tackle the smut another time ;) But as it is, this installment is completely smut-free and kid-friendly (I think, right? Did I do it??)! 
> 
> Enjoy :D

“Are you heading out now?”

“Yes, presently. Once his Highness finishes with his last council meeting for the week.” 

“Remind me…which one is it this time, Specs? The Gralean refugees association or the Altissian moogle festival committee?”

“…I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” 

“Noct, come on. Just get it done. I’ll have something special for your lazy, royal ass when it’s all over.”

“Mmm…promise?”

“Word of a Shield.”

Prompto balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder as he closed the refrigerator door. This conference call with three of his lovers (a weekly, if not daily occurrence) was getting more interesting by the second. He could not wait to see them tonight. 

Godsdamn finally! It had been too long. Almost two weeks since the last time they were all together. Not their longest dry spell, but too long for comfort. 

Fighting down the butterflies in his stomach, Prompto took a deep breath and scooped five plastic containers full of pre-cooked dinners into his backpack. “Alright. I’m down,” he informed his lovers. “Just let me pick up the big guy from his hang out spot.”

“Gotcha.” 

“Splendid. Something to look forward to.” 

“Can’t believe he still hangs out around there…” 

They each muttered quick goodbyes and hung up on their group chat. Prompto grabbed some water bottles from bottom cupboard, as well as some beer bottles from the freezer. Gladiolus swore beers tasted better with that little bit of frost on them from staying in the icebox overnight. Noctis thought it was a waste of time (“What’s the point of having ice magic if you can’t use a blizzard spell to make your beer nice and frosty?” the king grumbled), but Prompto always did it anyway. He liked the little thumbs up Gladiolus gave him when the Shield pulled out an already cold beer from Prompto’s backpack.

Gladiolus’s warm, gruff face alight with a smile. Prompto sighed again. Damn, that guy could still get his heart racing even after all these years. They all could.

Even as he thought the words, Prompto could hear Ardyn’s voice in his head. “What, you think five years is a long time?” 

“Yeah, yeah…” Prompto mumbled to himself, zipping up his backpack and slinging it over one shoulder. “You lived in the darkness for ages. We know, we know. How could we forget.” 

Checking his pocket for the requisite keys, phone, and wallet, Prompto made his way to the front door of his apartment. Well, to be more accurate, the two bedroom apartment he shared with Ardyn. 

\- - - - - - - - - - 

Immediately after they returned to Insomnia—following their triumphant victory against the Empire—Prompto, Ignis, Gladiolus, Noctis, and Ardyn all lived together in the Citadel. They shared one big room, the king’s master bedroom. Ever night, they become a giant cuddle/love pile. It was glorious; Prompto adored every second. At the time, being apart for even small moments felt weird. Especially for Ardyn, who was not used to being alone at all in the beginning. He strongly preferred to be in the presence of at least one other member of their group for the first couple of months.

They slid into their new roles as Lucian leaders. Noctis, of course, took up the throne. The first priority was rebuilding Insomnia and restoring the Citadel to its former glory. Beyond that, Noctis needed to mend relations with all the neighboring territories and assure the former satellite states of Niflheim that they would be safe under his rule. It was a constant, full-time job—in addition to the endless ceremonies a new king needed to endure to uphold tradition. Noctis certainly would not have been able to do it without Ignis, his chief advisor. And Gladiolus was legally obligated to spend every waking moment in the presence of the king, as his Shield. Noctis’s duties required him to travel all around and meet with many new people, an essential time for his chief bodyguard’s service.

Prompto spent a lot of time with Ardyn during those initial, unsteady months. Primarily because Ardyn had difficulty being alone, and well, so did Prompto. When necessity called Noctis, Ignis, and Gladiolus away, Prompto was left wandering the Citadel alone. Or he would have been, were it not for Ardyn. And—due to his blonde hair and an early revelation of the fact that he was an MT (hard to hide, after that last battle)—Prompto was a Lucian outsider. Many people gave Prompto sideways glances. There were harsh rumors whispered throughout the palace. Generally, people were still uneasy in the presence of an MT, even one with a close relationship to the king. 

Each darting gaze or whisper dogging his steps made Prompto more and more self-conscious. It drove him crazy to navigate all that by himself. He would have probably had some kind of a breakdown had it not been for Ardyn, his companion throughout everything. 

And Ardyn…had his own problems. Ironically, people recognized Ardyn. They knew him as Chancellor Izunia, the herald of the former Niflheim Empire. Far from being able to trust him, people saw him as a snake in the grass. Noctis’s counselors generally (and repeatedly) advised Noctis against keeping Ardyn within the Citadel, against having a relationship with him at all. 

Whether anyone in their retinue knew of their five-way relationship, no one said anything about it out in the open. Probably, it was obvious—five men retiring into one room with one bed at night. But things were unsteady in the beginning and such a thing would have been way too uncomfortable, too foreign and new, to discuss plainly at court. So the royal advisors were inclined to turn their heads away from such a thing, insofar as it related to Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto.

Ardyn was another matter.

Most people in the Citadel gave Ardyn a wide berth. They distanced themselves as much as it was possible to do, until Ardyn became a complete outcast in the Citadel save for a few kindly servants and his lovers.

Noctis hated it. Railed against such treatment in disgust. Ardyn protested that he honestly did not care all that much—but the look on his face told them he was lying. Every cold shoulder and hateful look made Ardyn’s shoulders hunch, his face dropping into stony apathy. His brand of self-preservation. 

It was hard for the men who loved Ardyn to watch that.

Eventually, even though the former immortal himself did not love the idea, Noctis publicly revealed Ardyn’s identity as a distant descendant of the Caelum family. They changed the true story a little bit, naming him a long-lost relative rather than the two-thousand-year-old former king and Accursed. That version of events would have been…too difficult to swallow. People who were imaginative enough to believe such a story would have been vehemently opposed to Ardyn staying within the kingdom. So there was nothing to be gained by telling the whole truth.

When people found out that Ardyn was in fact a Caelum (they believed him to be a cousin, once-removed, on Regis’s side), they were a little less harsh towards him. As in, they did not walk directly out of a room when Ardyn entered, nor did they refuse him service if he walked around the Citadel on his own. Things got a little better.

But after about a year, it became clear that Ardyn and Prompto would never be truly accepted throughout the Citadel. Nor in the eyes of the Lucian public. Despite how much their city had changed, the people of Insomnia were also desperate for things to stay the same. They clung to their traditions and intuited beliefs desperately, afraid to accept the concept of Niflheim presence so close to the savior king. They had been through a lot—Drautos the betrayer, an attack that decimated the population. Their fear closed their minds to the thought of such drastic change. 

Ignis believed this might resolve itself in about ten years. Perhaps that would be long enough for people to move on from their prejudices. But, Prompto did not intend to wait around that long. While Noctis steered the kingdom with a hand made steady by Ignis and Gladiolus, Prompto turned his attention back to Gralea. He wanted to help those MTs who had fought alongside him. 

And so, Prompto began an outreach program that gave refuge to MTs all over Eos. There was a lot of protest at first (the refugee center was to be housed within Insomnia’s walls), but Noctis had the final say. He supported Prompto’s endeavors whole-heartedly and sequestered public space in the western-most part of the city for the program. 

There, Prompto was able to do a lot of good. For one, he reached out to all the MTs from Niflheim that still remained, bidding them to come out of the shadows and seek refuge within Insomnia.

A life spent hiding under cover of darkness was no way to live. Prompto knew that pretty well by now. 

Little by little, MTs flocked to Insomnia. Prompto gave them aide in a variety of ways. Those that were passable as human, Prompto used his royal connections to get them jobs and eventually independent housing. A way to stand on their own two feet as members of a society. Those that were already too far gone in the demonization process, Prompto made them comfortable and gave them jobs to do around the facilities. Ardyn—who watched from the sidelines at first—decided to step in as well. He showed these less fortunate MTs how to control their daemonic sides as much as possible. He taught them to utilize their magical properties beneficially.

No one, no matter how “empty,” was turned away.

Eventually, Ardyn began research on a process that could detach the human side of the MTs from their magitech. He recruited some scientists for help in this department, but so far progress was limited.

“Should we take a page out of the Pious King’s book?” Prompto suggested lasciviously, already volunteering to “take care of” a few of them. If it would help.

But that wouldn’t work. Unlike people afflicted with Scourge, MTs were fused with the daemonic presence in a different way. They could not survive without the dark magic. Even if they could remove the magitech core entirely, the hosts would not live long on their own. It created quite the predicament.

Still, researching new possibilities kept scientists employed, and it gave hope to the MTs with the worst prospects. So the project remained active.

Furthermore, Prompto’s MT refugee program created a friendly relationship with Niflheim. Because, essentially, Prompto took their biggest problem (jobless MTs that were bred solely for the purpose of destruction roaming throughout their territories) and solved it for them (by removing the MTs from Niflheim and turning them into functioning members of society). Ravus, the leader of Niflheim, was extremely grateful. As were the remaining citizens. Tensions between Lucis and the conquered Empire slowly improved in the minds of the people.

Even more slowly, once people saw MTs living amongst them, holding down jobs and trying to lead regular lives, the public attitude began to shift. Now MTs had their own civil rights associations, legal accountabilities and standards. They were friends, lovers, neighbors. 

It seemed public opinion would turn even sooner than Ignis’s projected ten years.

But even so, Prompto moved out of the Citadel after about one year. His work in the MT program was all-consuming. Some nights he did not even make it home, just slept in the refugee building. When he did manage to come back to the Citadel, the whispers of the royal palace drove him even more insane. After a day spent fighting employers to accept his refugees, or holding an MT together before he or she demonized completely, Prompto could not stand even one more second of the prejudice.

He needed to divorce himself from that kind of thinking as much as possible if he was going to survive this. 

Noctis gave the most pushback against Prompto’s idea of moving out. He wanted all his lovers together, in one room, forever, like always. But such a situation was becoming more and more untenable. Ardyn was withdrawing in on himself, sometimes not emerging from the king’s bedroom for days, or else staying at Prompto’s refugee center for weeks at a time.

Even though they were all still together, sometimes it felt like they had never been more apart.

Ignis came around first on the notion that perhaps separate living situations were the best solution. For Prompto and Ardyn, and for their relationship together.

“Think of it this way,” Prompto urged, trying to draw a positive out of all this. “Wouldn’t you guys like a little love nest stashed away somewhere in the city? You can come over any time you want! Even just to get away from the Citadel for a little bit.”

Noctis considered that for a while. He had been secretly craving an escape from his kingly duties, something like he had in high school. Those high school memories were some of his favorites—time spent dicking around with Prompto and doing nothing for a few hours. 

“Eh, a little breathing room never hurt anybody,” Gladiolus said one night, after weeks of stewing on the topic. 

Finally, Noctis agreed. It was not that he had the final say regarding problems in the relationship, but rather that the five of them operated on a system of strict unanimity. They all needed to be in agreement before they made any decisions. Noctis was the last holdout. So once he agreed, they were all in accord. 

Prompto found a nice two bedroom apartment just outside the Citadel in an upscale, comfortable part of town. He and Ardyn moving in together was a smooth transition. Prompto secretly would have been happier with a one bedroom, but Ardyn liked having the pretense of some space. Besides, it didn’t matter. On most nights, he and Ardyn slept together in one bed regardless. Or on the coach, passed out in front of the television. They used their separate bedrooms as places to store their personal belongings, that’s all.

The five worked out an arrangement where they could all meet in the Citadel any time they wanted, with full clearance. Likewise, they could congregate in the apartment freely. They made sure to schedule time together at least once a week, regardless of obligations. Beyond that, they had a completely open door policy with each other.

It worked. They made sure it did. If anything, their connection only got stronger as time went by. 

They were lifelong partners. That much was clear, after everything they had been through together.

Now, five years later, Prompto was busier at work than ever. Noctis had matured into a very capable king (more handsome with each year that passed, if that was possible). Ignis and Gladiolus were essential figureheads throughout the kingdom, self-assured in the roles they had been groomed for their whole lives.

As for Ardyn, well. He did as he pleased.

That was really the best way to describe the former immortal’s current life. He sort of bounced around from activity to activity. He spent a lot of time at Prompto’s refugee center in the beginning, but not so much as time went by and the center (especially the team of scientists) became self-sufficient. Sometimes he worked in the Citadel—he had his own office there, for some reason, basically to do whatever he wanted. But he hardly used the office. If Noctis needed to consult him on anything (history, Niflheim relationships, the Lucis line, Astrals, anything), Ardyn just hung around the king personally. Or else he went “wherever he was needed,” (wherever Noctis asked him to go). 

In his free time—of which Ardyn had quite a lot—the man went for long walks throughout the city. Exploring. He grew very comfortable on his own. Self-assured and in much better spirits than he had been in at the Citadel. Relaxed. Sort of…easy-going in a devil-may-care kind of way. He perused the libraries throughout Insomnia, reading voraciously about topics that aroused his interest. Gaps in his knowledge of history. New inventions. He spent some time in the museums at first, but he emerged disgusted on more than one occasion because of “inaccuracies” in some of their exhibits.

“The Rogue Queen was hardly a recluse,” Ardyn bemoaned to Noctis and Ignis one day as they roamed the Museum of Modern Lucian History’s halls. “More like a woman ahead of her time. Who liked to drink. And I don’t believe she wore her hair like that. It was fairly straight, if I remember correctly. Also, the Tall King was actually a woman in disguise.”

“…What?” Ignis asked, confused as to why Ardyn would think to bring up the first matter before the second. 

“Yes, quite,” Ardyn assured him, nodding his crimson head of hair whimsically and peering down at a placard with descriptions of the mid-500s M.E. “I doubt you’ll find that in the history books, though. She did quite well hiding her true gender. Only reason she had to hide at all was because of the war over the Ghorovas Rift. She and the rest of her close family felt that the people, needing to go to battle, would be more loyal to a man than a woman. Unfortunate. But she carried herself as a man her whole life, from childhood on. Seems no one found out her secret.”

“So then…how did you find out?” Noctis wondered, not entirely sure if he should believe Ardyn about this.

Ardyn shrugged and gestured outwardly with one hand. “I spent a lot of time in the Citadel during those years. Masquerading as servants or Crownsguard. This and that, you know, never the same disguise twice. I was perfecting my mimicry abilities at first and then, well…you eavesdrop on enough conversations and you find out things people are not meant to know.” 

Right, Ardyn used to have the power to change his appearance at will. Noctis remembered his lover telling him that, but he had never seen it for himself.

“Oh. So…did you ever do any of that with me?” Noctis asked suspiciously. He supposed it didn’t matter. But it was weird to think that perhaps Ardyn had been secretly watching him for years before they met. “Like, the disguises and stuff?”

At that, Ardyn turned his head to meet Noctis’s gaze. His eyes glimmered in the harsh overhead lighting. “Oh, Noct, no! Of course not.” 

He had. Obviously.

Sighing, Noctis rubbed his forehead and decided he didn’t want to know any more. “You know, I can tell when you’re lying, man…” he mumbled.

Ardyn smirked and looked back at the exhibit. “Well. No harm was done to you in your precious youth, was it? Not by me anyway. Besides, that’s all in the past. More importantly, who do I see about fixing the translation of this Ghorovas script? There are mistakes in three places!”

Ignis cleared his throat and glanced around, aware of more than a few eyes on them. “Perhaps…it’s a matter best left for another time…” he muttered.

But Ardyn still managed to wave over the attention of a passing tour guide. “Excuse me? Are your historians full-time here? Because I’d like to have a word about your pre-Accordion Annexation facts…” 

After waiting for a seemingly endless amount of time while Ardyn corrected each fact throughout the exhibit, (which would probably remain wrong, since it was unlikely they would change any placards due to one eccentric’s way of thinking that contradicted all the history textbooks), Ignis and Noctis decided to steer Ardyn clear of museums in the future. 

Beyond that, Ardyn spent most of his time in the flourishing public park near his and Prompto’s apartment. By many accounts, this local park was the nicest in Insomnia, with scrawling fields and a hiking trail, as well as a large lake. After all his years in the darkness, hindered by sunlight, it seemed that almost all Ardyn wanted to do now was just be in nature. He circled the hiking trails over and over, wiled away his hours sitting in the grassy fields. Reading, or sleeping. Sometimes just sitting.

He liked to sit on the grass, feel the sun on his skin, the sounds of birds and insects all around him. It calmed him, made him feel like he was part of the world. Another living thing among a score of living things all around him. That was a good feeling. Being alive, being able to exist with other things. He had sorely taken that for granted in his old life, and now…well, Ardyn frequented the park at least once a day.

Prompto offered to take Ardyn on some early-morning photography sessions from time to time. The only time Ardyn could be expected to agree was when Prompto suggested going to the park (their park, specifically, the others “paled in comparison”). The landscape was beautiful as the sun rose over the lake, shimmering in gold and yellow tones on the surface of the water. The two of themspent more time than they meant to just staring at it. Silently.

Once, they found a small family of fennec foxes nesting on the side of the trail. Entirely by accident. Prompto wanted to take a close-up shot of a huge oak tree and when he knelt down in front of it, his knee brushed their nesting hole imbedded in the tree’s trunk. 

The blonde’s heart skipped a beat when he discovered a white mother fox surrounded by four sleeping baby boxes. He hissed at Ardyn to come over right away, afraid to even snap a picture out of fear that the foxes might wake up.

“Look!” Prompto cried in hushed tones. “Isn’t that the most adorable thing ever?”

Ardyn surveyed the foxes, easing himself down onto his knees (slowly, taking care not to put too much strain on his joints). He was not…entirely sure what to say, so he said the first thing that came to his mind. “Remarkable that they’ve managed to stay asleep…”

“I know, right?” Prompto’s face was pulled tight in an excited smile. He slowly raised his camera and took a hesitant picture, flinching when the camera snapped its shot.

The foxes slept on. Grinning, Prompto took dozens more shots from all different angles.

After a while, he asked Ardyn, “Do you think we can take them home? As like,pets?”

Ardyn shook his head. “Ridiculous. We don’t have the space for five foxes. Besides, they obviously belong in the wild. It’s their natural environment.”

“Aww, yeah, you’re right.” Prompto seemed only slightly disappointed. Deep down he knew what was best for the foxes (they were totally safe and at peace in the forest). “But we’ve definitely got to mark this spot and come back here! This looks like their nest. I want to visit sometime, you know?” 

Ardyn was about to say something about how the foxes probably migrated from place to place and they would be unlikely to find them again, when suddenly the mother fox cracked one eye open. Realizing she was being stared at, she raised her head and opened her mouth, unsure whether to bark or bite. Her snout sniffed furiously in their direction. 

Ardyn immediately moved back. It was instinct—probably this fox was about to reach over and snap at them for coming near her babies. But Prompto just stayed completely still. Glancing over at his companion, Ardyn decided to freeze as well. Maybe this boy had some experience with wild animals, or…? 

The fox scented them for another moment. Sensing no danger, she just blinked and curled closer to her babies. She raised her head, heaved one giant, adorable yawn, then laid back down on her paws. 

“Man…too…cute…!” Prompto stammered, beside himself at the scene. He snapped as many pictures as he possibly could. “I can’t wait to show these to the guys…!” 

Ardyn had to admit, that was rather…endearing. The fact that the fox sniffed him and did not rear back in fear was also…curious. Sort of amazing. 

He wondered if the kind, human smell of his four companions had rubbed off on him somehow.

Prompto took a piece of dried garula jerky he had in his backpack and laid it out in front of the foxes as thanks. “That was awesome, little guys,” he said to them. “Thanks for letting us get so close.”

It had been a rather successful photo venture. Prompto prattled on and on about seeing the foxes again, but as Ardyn expected, the feral family moved on from the oak tree. Still, there was reason to be optimistic. The foxes were definitely still out there in the small forest somewhere.

Secretly, Ardyn made sure to take some jerky with him every time he went into the trails. Just in case.

And actually, this was not so secret. Prompto knew right away when he saw his supply of jerky was running low. Once he even saw Ardyn take a piece and put it in his pants pocket. 

But Prompto definitely did not mind. It made him smile. “This guy…” Prompto said to himself. Then, during dinner, he asked Ardyn to try and get a picture of the foxes if he ever saw them again. 

Ardyn agreed with a quiet nod of his head.

Other than walking and luxuriating in the nature, Ardyn had taken up another pastime he could indulge in the park. Fishing. 

It all started one day when Noctis was out fishing in the lake to blow off some steam after a particularly grueling morning of meetings. Gladiolus had decided to take his king out on the lake because he knew Noctis needed some time to zone out. Ardyn volunteered to go with them because of his affinity for the park—in fact, the only thing he loved more than sitting there doing nothing was sitting there doing nothing alongside his four companions. But he went under the guise of “going there anyway.”

While Noctis sifted through his set of lures, Ardyn sat down on the dock next to Gladiolus. He rolled the hem of his pants up and stuck his feet in the water—a marvelous way to cool down his whole body without having to get all wet in a swim. Gladiolus watched him appreciatively, then did the same. 

“How long does this usually take…?” Ardyn asked the Shield after Noctis had been standing in one place for about twenty minutes, reeling and casting with no fish to show for it. 

“Oh, a lot longer than this,” Gladious warned, resting back on the heel of his hands. “Best thing to do is just sit back and watch. His Highness gets sulky when you try to do anything else to pass the time.”

Noctis clicked his tongue. “You don’t have to stay here. Go for a run around the lake. Play King’s Knight or something. It’s fine.” 

But the tone the king was using belied the fact that it would definitely not be fine. So, Gladiolus shook his head resolutely. “No, no. It’s all good. I’m used to it. Besides, taking a break is nice every now and then.”

Sensing that they would be there for quite a while, Ardyn settled in against Gladiolus. He considered taking a nap on the Shield’s shoulder (another favorite activity of his). Slowly, he got used to the methodic motion of Noctis’s reeling and casting. As more time went by, he got curious when he saw Noctis changing the lures.

“What are you doing?” Ardyn inquired, hoisting one foot up on the dock. “Are those little plastic baubles so unique?” 

Noctis gestured to the lure in his hand, a big master typhon. “Uh, well…yeah. Different fish are attracted to different types, you know…?”

Actually Ardyn did not know. He knew nothing about this little hobby. But watching Noctis work the line and expertly divine which type of lure he might need was becoming a little fascinating. 

When Noctis started reeling in fish, Ardyn stared in rapt attention. They were mostly common fish, some bluegill and a couple of trevally. But then Noctis managed to catch a grouper and even Gladiolus rose to his feet.

“Look at the size of that thing…” the Shield mused.

Noctis beamed, glancing between the fish and his companions. Ardyn could feel how excited his young king was, and in all honesty he was equally as enthused. To think that such a large fish had so willing come to Noctis…and now they could hail their catch as a worthy prize!

“Might I try that for a bit?” Ardyn asked suddenly.

Gladiolus and Noctis stared at the older man, stunned. They had not exactly expected Ardyn to show interest in a mundane activity, especially something he knew almost nothing about. …Surprising. 

“Uh, sure,” Noctis replied. He handed Ardyn his fishing rod curiously. 

Seeing the way the former immortal held the rod—like a sword, completely wrong—Noctis could not help intervening. He walked around behind Ardyn and guided his hands into the right position, hand over hand teaching him how to cast his reel. The closeness was nice—but Ardyn soon became focused on nothing but the motions. It required a gentle hand at first, being delicate with the line and then luring the fish by shaking the lure just so. Then you needed a mix of brute strength and good intuition to finish the reeling—making sure not to snap the line, but not letting the fish squirm away. 

It took a few hours, but when Ardyn caught his first fish—a simple reef trevally—he felt such an unreasonable sense of accomplishment he actually laughed, shaking his head as he stared at the fish in his hands. This fish had actually managed to swim to him…? Gladiolus came over and patted him on the back, while Noctis called him a natural.

Ardyn shook his head again, but he internally preened at the praise. 

The lake practiced catch and release, so they had to throw back all their fish. But Ardyn did not mind. It seemed only natural, after all. They had their moment with the fish then it was over. Fair enough. 

After that, Ardyn brought his own fishing rod to the lake from time to time. He caught nothing but trevally and trout for months. Then he finally reeled a catfish—a notable step up. He even took a picture of that catfish with his phone, sending it to his lovers to show them his achievement. Their quick replies fluffed his confidence and soon Ardyn took his hobby elsewhere to try fishing for keeps. 

He found that taking his catches home at the end of the day was satisfying in its own right. Both he and Prompto had learned how to cook since they started living apart from the Citadel. Prompto knew how to make a white sauce that went splendidly with all kinds of fish. Ardyn quickly taught himself a recipe for fried trout that he could eat almost any night of the week. 

So many small pieces of enjoyment from such a simple thing! Ardyn liked the feeling of self-sufficiency, that he could eat something he had caught with his own hands. Beyond that, it saved money to catch fish rather than buy it in a store. And…there was a feeling of completeness. That he had caught something and then immediately used it to its potential by enjoying a delicious meal. 

Well. It seemed being an independent adult was mysteriously sensational. 

The skills required for fishing satisfied Ardyn’s latent need to use his wiles and strength. So, in fairness, he was actually very good at it. He became locally known as a go-to fisherman, and people asked him to catch all kinds of things for them now and then. Ardyn always obliged. Because it was fun. 

All in all, Ardyn was quite pleased with his new quiet, slow life. 

He would never admit this, of course. That he took a ridiculous amount of joy in the simple things (sitting in the grass, foxes, and fishing). That would be…well, unbecoming, maybe. He still harbored the memories from his past life. Sometimes these memories were a weight he needed to shoulder, sometimes there were little flashes of pleasant things from his past that he was happy to remember. Chatting with his sister about her new husband. Being treated to a nice meal by a thankful family after he had just healed most of the household. 

The dark memories did overtake him, every so often. He felt consumed by things that had been done to him…and things he had done. On occasions like that, he needed to spend a day surrounded by his companions. Or immersed in nature, passing time in deep thought. 

Some days were better than others, admittedly. But it was more than enough just to have the small things.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

With his handle on the front door, Prompto suddenly considered that perhaps Ardyn had not brought his camping backpack with him to the park. It wouldn’t be the first time. So, turning back around on his heels, Prompto stomped over to Ardyn’s bedroom. Surprisingly—or unsurprisingly—it was much messier than Prompto’s own. Most of the time, Prompto ended up exasperatedly cleaning the room for Ardyn because the older man could not keep his own things tidy even if you paid him, (which Prompto had tried). 

Sure enough, there was Ardyn’s backpack on the floor. Shaking his head—did Ardyn do this on purpose? Leave his things so someone else would have to carry them?—Prompto snatched the bag by its shoulder strap. 

…Way too light. Sighing, Prompto peered inside the bag and discovered without too much shock that it was empty. 

Damn it. Prompto had reminded Ardyn to pack his things the night before like three times. He remembered receiving a sort of muffled grunt in response. So, here they were.

Checking his phone for the time, Prompto quickly reached into Ardyn’s dresser drawers. He pulled out a change of clothes for Ardyn—just the essentials, he didn’t waste time thinking about what he was grabbing—and stuffed them into the backpack. These would have to do for now (good thing they had done the cooking together, at Prompto’s behest, so there would at least be enough food). 

The blonde threw the under-packed knapsack over one shoulder, precariously balancing it with his own. Yup, two backpacks he had to carry. Jeez he was way too nice of a guy for Ardyn…but, well, that had always been the case.

No changing a guy, after all. 

Deciding against sending a disgruntled text message to his housemate (really, that would only take more time), Prompto dashed towards the door. On his way out, he glanced purposefully over at the small shelf by their coatrack. It was where they displayed some of their photos. Mostly group photos of the five of them, random exploits and adventures they had had together. One showed them all on differently colored chocobos hanging out by the Wiz station. Another showed the five of them standing on the highway against the backdrop of the meteor (Prompto could not even remember when they took that one). There was one photo of the five of them in their full Kingsglaive raiment on the day of Noctis’s coronation—quite an emotional day. Then another was just of Noctis and Prompto (an old one, an indulgent selfie they took back when they were in high school).

But Prompto found the one he was looking for right in that moment. It was a picture taken about two years ago, in their apartment, during a Halloween party. The night had started off kind of loud and boisterous, with numerous friends stopping by in full costume to celebrate with them. But as the night wore on, all their guests left to hit the bar scene while the five of them chose to stay in and just get wasted together. A hilarious, totally fun night.

Prompto was dressed as a skeleton (he had spent a lot of time putting on that make-up, and by the time this was taken a lot of it was already smudged). Noctis (no could figure out why) wore a pirate costume. Ignis was dressed in a lab coat—realistically the only thing they could convince him to wear—and Gladiolus was dressed as, of all things, a classic Roman gladiator. That gladiator outfit did things to Prompto. Still did, even to this day.

Ardyn was in the picture too. After a few drinks, when they were all sufficiently tipsy, someone (Prompto later would not admit whom, but it was definitely Noctis) managed to slip a pair of cat ears on Ardyn’s head without him noticing. It was the standard headband with coeurl-print fluffy ears, but Noctis had taken his task so seriously that the ears were aligned just so to look absolutely believable on top of Ardyn’s crimson head. 

Also, when they snapped the photo Ardyn face was screwed up in a semi-scowl, semi-grin (his usual drunk face, they discovered). Perfect grumpy cat pose.

“Heh, got him.” 

Prompto loved the hell out of this picture. He glanced it every time he was a little (or more than a little) pissed off at Ardyn for any reason. It made him feel vindicated. Of course there was the fact that Ardyn groaned exaggeratedly every time he happened to see the picture—saying on one occasion that he preferred the age before images could be captured on film, (pre-photography, basically the portrait painting era, they all assumed). But that only made it better.

Satisfied, Prompto darted out the front door—double-checking that he locked it behind him. It was 16:00, just on the final edge of the afternoon. He hurried over to the park about a block away. Ardyn’s usual hang out.

Now came the hardest part: Finding Ardyn wherever he had decided to chill out for the day. The grass, or the trails. Prompto checked the lake first out of habit, but he knew Ardyn probably wouldn’t be there; the older man had left his fishing gear at home.

Luckily, there were a few other park-regulars that had taken notice of Prompto and Ardyn over the years. An elderly couple who sat in the park on weekends and always said hello. A man who ran a sandwich cart near the side of the lake. This man always kept an eye out on Ardyn, for Prompto’s sake, ever since that one time when Prompto had legitimately thought he’d lost Ardyn in the park. Ardyn had left his phone at home and Prompto could not for the life of him find where Ardyn had spent his day (which was a problem, considering how often Ardyn fell asleep out there). In his panic, the sandwich cart guy helped Prompto in his search, knowing the man Prompto referred to right away once he mentioned the red hair and the hat (Ardyn had taken to wearing his old fedora again on sunny days; it kept the sun out of his eyes and he was comfortable in it). That time, they finally found Ardyn dead asleep near the far side of the lake, a spot rather far off than his usual. Prompto was out of his mind with gratitude towards the sandwich cart guy—for no reason other than that he had helped him look. 

Eventually they learned that this kindly man’s name was Yannik, but they still called him the sandwich cart guy. The name stuck.

“Hey, man,” Prompto called to the guy. They bumped fists as per usual. “How’s it going?” 

“Getting by,” the man replied casually. “Looking for your friend?”

“You know it.”

“Think he’s over on the hill today. It was pretty sunny, so. Thought I saw him near the top.”

Prompto saluted his thanks. He bought a few sandwiches as well, extra food for their trip. Then he trudged up the hill to meet Ardyn. Sure enough, he spotted his oldest companion laying flat on his back in the grass right at the hill’s crest. When he approached, Prompto could tell immediately that Ardyn was out cold. Probably had been for some time. His fedora sat on top of his face, shielding him from the sun’s gaze. But by now the sun was already setting. 

Why did this guy have to look so comfortable wherever he fell asleep? Just like Noctis. So unfair.

Prompto got down on his knees, shaking Ardyn awake by his shoulders. The man did not so much as move. Sighing and glancing around them (Prompto worried sometimes that people saw Ardyn as a vagrant or something…and honestly, Ardyn did very little to disprove that theory), the blonde took Ardyn’s hat off the older man’s face, exposing him to the dwindling light.

“Come on, big guy,” Prompto encouraged when he saw Ardyn squinting and opening his eyes. 

Nodding as he slowly came back into consciousness, Ardyn groaned as he sat up. He looked around, realizing he was in the park. It sometimes took a few minutes to remember where he was after he’d had a good long sleep. His body would always need such deep, recuperative sleep it seemed. 

“Ready to head out?” Prompto asked, waiting patiently for Ardyn to recover. He slyly plopped the fedora back down onto the older man’s head where it belonged.

Oh yes. Now Ardyn remembered. It was his night with the group. They were all meant to spend a few evenings together in the haven just outside of Insomnia. 

“Mmm…” Ardyn murmured, passing a hand over his face and fixing Prompto with a warm look. “Quite so, I think.” 

So, together, moving at a decently slow pace (it would be another twenty minutes before Ardyn was awake enough to be in any kind of mood to hurry), they walked to the edge of park. Intending on heading over to the Citadel to get picked up, they were decently surprised to find the Regalia already parked outside. 

“Hey, what happened? You lose him in there again?” Gladiolus quipped from the backseat.

Ignis was in the driver’s seat, Noctis at his side. A scene from the past. Prompto paused, taking a moment to smile with nostalgia. 

“Make some room, will you?” Ardyn mumbled groggily. He stumbled to the car door, hauling his nearly-empty backpack with him.

Gladiolus answered his own question. “Ah, taking a load off, then.” He slid over to make space for Ardyn in the middle seat. As soon as he sat down, the older man leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. 

Noctis turned to Prompto. “Hey, Prom,” the king greeted with a small smile.

Oh, man, Prompto thought. His boyfriend was getting more handsome by the day. His face had evened out and his hair was cut short in a dignified way. Long enough that he could brush his hair back with one hand, but not so long that it hung down in his eyes the way it did when he was in his early twenties. 

Without thinking twice, Prompto leaned over and kissed Noctis on the lips. “Hey, sexy.” 

Ignis smiled at the little demonstration. He checked the rearview mirror to note that Ardyn was not at all asleep. The former immortal was actually having a short conversation with Gladiolus. 

The two had more than a little to catch up on—in his spare time, Ardyn was doing some reconnaissance work for Gladiolus on the edges of the city. The Shield wanted to expand their borders by about two miles (the population in Insomnia was growing every day), but he wanted to make sure the area could withstand such a thing. Ardyn was happy to help with these matters—after all, it was basically what he did anyway. Wandering around the edge of town, poking his nose into things. He had a lot of information to give Gladiolus and he didn’t mind doing it now. When they were squished against each other in the back of the Regalia, Gladiolus running his fingers through Ardyn’s hair slowly. Sure, why not.

Prompto slid into Noctis’s lap in the front seat, sprawling himself out over his boyfriend’s torso. He leaned his head on the king’s shoulders. “I’m ready to go, Ig,” he announced happily. “Let’s rock and roll.”

The beleaguered advisor normally would have objected to something so obviously unsafe. But in truth, it had been a while since they had all shared some time together. Touching was in high demand tonight, and Ignis knew Noctis and Prompto wanted to be close just then. So, against his better judgement, Ignis nodded and started the car.

“Should be about an hour until we get to the haven,” he broadcasted. “Get comfortable.” Alright, Ignis even flashed a quick smile at Prompto when he said it. 

It really had been a long time for them, hadn’t it?

The five men settled as Ignis drove. The long highway stretched before them as the day turned into an early night. Nightfall no longer held any dangers these days. Instead, there was a kind of peace about the darkness. Animals and insects could be heard buzzing near the grass. People dared to build their homes further and further away from the main cities, without the need for a strong light source to ward off daemons. Many people did not believe this was strictly safe (centuries of beliefs and extra caution were hard to erase), but the times were changing. New small clusters of homes, fledgling towns, could be found in the previously empty places of Lucis.

“I like the lights,” Prompto said softly, his cheek pressed against Noctis’s shoulder. The homes, lit up from the inside, sped by them as the Regalia soldiered on. “They’re nice.” 

“Yeah,” Noctis agreed. His eyes were mostly closed though as he buried his face in Prompto’s crunchy blonde hair. 

Noctis knew all about the restructuring of Lucis. He had a lot of feelings about the matter, as the king, but right in that moment—cuddling with his boyfriend of several years—he could not care less. 

True to his word, it was about an hour and half until they reached the haven. The car sliding into a stop was jarring enough after such a smooth ride.

“Shall we?” Ignis prompted, turning off the car and rounding around to the trunk. 

“Let’s go,” Gladiolus urged Ardyn, who laid his head in the Shield’s lap for comfort. The older man groaned but sat up, following his companions out of the car.

“Come on, ” Noctis whispered, rubbing circles in Prompto’s back. “Time to go camping.” 

“Mmmm…” Prompto had, in all truth, been on the verge of sleep. He was perfectly fine right where he was. “Not now. ’M comfortable….”

Noctis sighed. He pressed a kiss to his small lover’s cheek. “You’re working yourself too hard, Prom. You look dead tired right now.” 

At that, Prompto sat up and stretched. “Nah, I’m fine. It’s just been a long week. But hey, it’s Friday right? Let’s go.”

Actually, Noctis was probably right. Prompto had pulled a lot of extra hours at the center that week. They had an influx of MTs on Monday who had been living outside of human contact for almost ten years. Tough cases, all of them. Prompto could not help remembering pieces of his own escape story when he heard how the MTs had fled the Empire back in when it was still a stronghold (a prison). It had roughed him up a little.

But he didn’t need to rehash all that now. He just wanted to enjoy some time with Noctis, and for Noctis to believe that Prompto could handle everything just fine. After all, Prompto had Ardyn to come home to every night. Ardyn, who could take one look at Prompto and know he needed to run a warm bath for the young man before dinner. Ardyn, who did not mind being big spoon or little spoon when they snuggled, depending on whatever Prompto needed. Ardyn, who listened whenever Prompto needed to vomit up all the crazy shit he had heard that day. 

Because of all that, Prompto really was fine. Just a little tired.

They set up camp just like old times. Only this time, instead of Ignis heading to the grill to make a sumptuous meal, everyone pulled out containers of pre-made food. Even though they all cooked now, Ignis still made the best meals. No denying that. They licked their lips when they caught sight of Ignis’s famous lasagna al forno. 

Beers and plastic cups of mixed drinks clinked together as the men toasted another night in the wilderness. They tucked into the food with relish, complimenting dishes all around. 

“Nothing like good company, good food, and good drink in the middle of nowhere,” Gladiolus rumbled happily, downing his beer in one go. He gave Prompto a joyous thumbs up because it was exactly the right temperature (worth it). 

“It’s a lovely night,” remarked Ignis. “I almost regret that this week I’ve been thinking of nothing but our sleeping arrangements tonight. Seems a shame to go to bed early on such an evening.”

“We could sleep out here?” Prompto suggested, still curled up against Noctis. The two had been largely inseparable for most of the night. 

“Nah, remember last time? We woke up covered in bug bites and you bitched about it for a solid month.” Gladiolus shook his head at the memory.

“Oh yeah…” Prompto yawned, ready for sleep regardless. “Now I remember…”

“Heh.” Noctis gestured to Ardyn. “Looks like we already got one out.”

Indeed, Ardyn was already fast asleep. He had managed to find Gladiolus’s discarded Kingsglaive jacket and wrap himself up in the thick black material like it was a small blanket. Dead to the world, Ardyn had his face pressed up against the collar of the jacket where Gladiolus’s smell was heaviest. 

Not at all by accident. Nothing was more comforting, to Ardyn or any of them, than the smell of their Shield. 

Gladiolus chuckled. “Yeah…no way I’m getting that off of him tonight.”

They all agreed.

“How is he doing, Prompto?” Ignis asked suddenly. “He seemed rather tired today. Two naps in one evening?”

Prompto shrugged. “He’s been spending most of his days in the park, except when he goes to do that job for Gladio. I think…I don’t know. He might be down. It’s sort of hard to tell sometimes.” 

They considered that for a moment. The list of things that could be bothering Ardyn was quite long. Besides, he did often get into moods that were difficult to read. Mercurial, at times.

“Well, good thing we decided to do this tonight, then,” Noctis said, taking another long sip from his cup. “We’re going to spend all day together tomorrow. Doing whatever we want. Right, guys?” 

“Ah, man, yeah…” Gladiolus sighed, lying down on a blanket next to Ardyn. Honestly, the Shield had just about worked himself to the bone these past few months. Things were getting rather busy with all the new recruits to the Kingsglaive. He and Cor just managed to make ends meet. They were thinking about delegating further to some new glaives, but that came with its own set of problems. “I am just…wiped out.” 

Ignis surveyed his sleepy lovers. “Perhaps calling it an early night is for the best after all.”

No surprise, with the lives they led, the five of them were exhausted when Friday came around. Although it was true that Ignis had been fantasizing about tonight for most of the week (no matter how tired he was, Ignis had a surprising amount of stamina when he needed to use it, like on nights when they were all together sharing one tent. His favorite nights by far…), he did not mind just laying down in between Noctis and Gladiolus and calling it a day. 

“To the tent, then?” Ignis asked, stifling a yawn. 

They roused each other just enough to stumble blearily into their familiar green nylon tent. Ignis’s planning be damned, they all passed out exactly where they fell. Before long, there were three sets of snores. Then two deep, even breaths. The gentle sound of sleep.

This small space felt more like home than anywhere else. 

Ardyn awoke in the middle of the night—sweaty, and a bit confused where he was for a brief moment. But the unearthly green glow around him could only mean one thing. Their were four bodies surrounding him, four bodies that he knew quite well. The warmth of his companions soothed him right back into a calm.

He knew where he was. A brief vision entered his mind of all the things he wanted to do tomorrow—some things he had been planning for weeks, as a matter of fact—with these outstanding young gentlemen. 

Oh yes. The former immortal smiled to himself as he slipped back asleep. Into much more pleasant dreams this time.

It was still dark, but the sun would be rising soon. Just like it did every day. Reliably, comfortably. In the morning, there would be arms to fall into. Mouths to kiss. 

Ardyn was more than fine with that.

 

 

 

End

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, Ardyn is that hobo in the park who takes naps on the grass and doesn't have anywhere to be. Except home with Prompto <3\. The way I see it, he's the guy the Kingsglaive/Citadel calls when they need something done quickly and quietly. No questions asked. Their go-to guy, kind of like a jack-of-all-trades. I can't really see Ardyn turning down a lot of work as long as it doesn't put him out of his way too much. Who knows the kinds of things he'll get into ;) ;)? But he can handle it. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! This kind of tooth-rotting fluff keeps me going sometimes. We all need some fluff in our lives, I think ;)


End file.
